Drift Away
by GideonGraystairs
Summary: His face burned in shame, his ears red and his hands shaking as he scrambled to pick up everything that had been knocked out of his hands only moments before.


**_Why do I always torture my babies? I'm a terrible parent. Anyway, another fic from the 24 Fics In 24 Days Challenge that I'm trying to finish posting before I leave for Mexico on the 17th for the holidays. Enjoy!_**

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><p>The sound of his books hitting the floor echoed loudly through the hallway. It drew the unwanted attention of a good chunk of the student body, which subsequently caused Alec to fumble in retrieving his belongings and be subjected to more jibing insults. Above him, Sebastian laughed mercilessly and kicked his history textbook further away. Alec swallowed, but said nothing.<p>

His face burned in shame, his ears red and his hands shaking as he scrambled to pick up everything that had been knocked out of his hands only moments before. He was having trouble breathing now, a panic attack creeping in from the depths of his subconscious, beckoned by the hushed whispers and judging stares of everyone around him. He wanted to melt into the floor, to crawl into his bed and never leave it, but he knew from experience that neither were ever going to happen no matter how hard he wished. He was stranded here with no escape from the tormentors who beat him down with a vengeance he couldn't remember doing anything to deserve. It was cruel and unfair and Alec had lost his faith in others a long time ago because of it.

At least, he thought absently, they didn't say the worst of it to his face. He'd heard them talking when they didn't think he was in the room before; had heard the way they commented on how much of a freak he really was, wearing longsleeves in the summer, always burying his head in a book, stuttering whenever someone tried to talk to him. At least the worst they did when he was there was beat him into the dirt and send him home with a black eye and the word 'faggot' sharpied across his forehead. Marker came off and bruises healed, so Alec was thankful it was never any worse. It didn't mean there were no lasting scars from the torment, though, no matter how hard he tried to pretend it had no effect on him.

"That's right, fag. Get down there, you're good at that aren't you?" He ignored the sneering boy's jabs, collecting all of his belongings before picking himself up, sucking in a sharp breath, and turning to go without a word. Sebastian didn't like that, though, and said as much.

Normally, this would be the part where Alec would resign himself to a beating, pause halfway down the hall as they made their way towards him, and ponder over whether the fetal position would do him any good this time. The students still in the hallway would laugh and whisper or give him pitying looks before heading on their way. A few would stay, eager to watch the show, and surround him like he was in a fight club and there for their entertainment alone. Afterwards, Alec would lay on the ground for half the period he was missing because he couldn't bring himself to move and then he'd drag himself to his feet, to the boy's bathroom, and clean himself up for his next class. He'd count the hours, the minutes, the seconds, until he got to go home and then he'd be on his way, locking himself in his room the second he could and jamming headphones into his ears to drown out the sound of his parents fighting. His brother would get back around nine, dragging a giggling bimbo after him, and his sister would come stumbling in six hours later with her dress too short, her breath stinking of alcohol, and her neck covered in bright red marks. Max would spend the night at a friend's house, their mother's suggestion, and remain blissfully unaware of how completely screwed they all were.

That was not what happened now. Instead, a sleek voice interjected, "He doesn't live to please you," and a warm hand closed around his shoulder in an almost comforting manner. Sebastian stared in shock at the intruder before huffing, letting out a breathy curse, and dragging his posse off down the hall to whatever class they were supposed to be disturbing right now.

Once they were completely gone, the wide double doors at the end of the hallway swinging shut behind them, Alec's defender turned towards him with a flash of concerned gold-green eyes and a dizzying amount of glitter. "Are you alright?" he asked warmly, his hand coming up to brush the angry mark on Alec's cheek from yesterday. The blue-eyed boy would have been proud at not flinching away if he weren't so lost in his saviour's transfixing bright eyes and gentle expression.

He was beautiful; all soft, curving lines and sensual planes full of confidence and prowess. His skin was like caramel, tanned and flawless as it stretched over a perfect figure, and his hair was a perfect blend of tousled black and spiked colour. His face was warm and kind, full of an attraction Alec felt heavily in every ounce of his tired being, and shifted expressions so smoothly it was like watching the ocean ebb and flow away from the shore. He was beautiful in the very essence of the word, the kind of thing Alec would have once admired profoundly before he realized that all beauty was no more than an illusion, hiding away the ugliness that lay underneath.

"Fine," he muttered back, turning his gaze away in an effort to quell the disappointment his last thought had left him. The hand on his cheek flitted away in a rush of coldness that had Alec turning to watch it go, only to realize it was being extended towards him in a gesture of greeting.

"I'm Magnus," the beautiful boy offered him gently with a warm smile like the sun on a sandy beach. Alec stared at him for a long while as he tried to process that someone was speaking to him without the intention to grind him down into a pool of self-hatred he could never learn to swim in.

It took another moment more before he reached out to shake his defender's hand. "Alec."

This time, Magnus's smile was like soft grains of sugar falling in much the same way snowflakes did throughout the winter. The look present in his eyes was far kinder than Alec had ever seen before. "It's nice to meet you, Alec. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" _Fine_, he was going to say, but somehow the word fell away from him soundlessly when he met Magnus's unwavering golden-green gaze. He swallowed, took his hand back, looked away.

His companion's expression softened even more considerably, despite the fact that Alec had thought such a thing to be impossible, and a knowing look settled itself over his gentle face. "Right," he mumbled softly. "How about we get out of here, then?"

_No_, Alec's mind screamed for him to say. He was well aware of the dangers running off with a stranger posed and was all too familiar with the cruelty of others. He didn't trust anyone, not even himself, and that made it virtually impossible to form any kind of relationship with anyone, let alone the fact that there was no one who had ever wanted to do so. People were awful, unfair creatures and Alec knew that better than anyone.

Still, somehow his mouth overrode his mind and the words that tumbled from his fumbling lips were quite different. "Yeah, sure," he replied and then allowed himself to be dragged by the hand from the building. Because maybe people were awful and unfair and cruel and he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone, but Magnus had helped him where no one else ever had and maybe, just maybe, he was different from the rest.

If nothing else, his hand fit warmly into Alec's.

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><p><em><strong>I have no idea where this came from, as it w<strong>__**as not one of the fics I planned to write. Actually half of the fics I ended up doing weren't the ones I'd planned. I got dragged into a pit of Malec angst and they all just kind of happened... Let me know what you thought?**_


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